Thin-type switchboard

ABSTRACT

A thin-type switchboard having a plurality of reed switches each of which is adapted to be operated when subjected to a magnetic field, said reed switches being disposed substantially in a single plane beneath an operating surface. A separate manually positionable permanent magnet operates selected ones of said reed switches when positioned in registration therewith adjacent said operating surface.

United States Patent I 1 Goto [111 3,750,062 July 31,1973

[ THIN-TYPE SWITCHBOARD [75] Inventor: Mitsuhiro Goto, Suwa, Japan [73] Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Suwav Seikosha,

- Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: Aug. 16, 1971 [21] Appl. No.2 171,870

[30] Foreign Application'Priority Data 3/1951 Marble et a1. 335/206 X 4/1970 Hesser et al. 335/206 3/1971 Sheehan 335/205 X Primary Examiner-Roy N. Envall, Jr. Attorney-Alex Friedman et al.

[57 ABSTRACT A thin-type switchboard having a plurality of reed switches each of which is adapted to be operated when subjected to a magnetic field, said reed switches being disposed substantially in a single plane beneath an operating surface. A separate manually positionable permanent magnet operates selected ones of said reed switches when positioned in registration therewith adjacent said operating surface.

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MITSUHIRO GOTO 1M i k ATTORNE X TI-IIN TYPE SWITCHBOARD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to switchboards, and in particular, to switchboards incorporating reed switches which are adapted for operation in the presence of a magnetic field. Various electronic devices, including portable computers, utilize such switchboards, but the prior art arrangements have all occupied substantial volumes of space, serving to limit the size of the portable devices. In the past, this was not a problem since the other components also required large volumes. of space, and true miniaturization was not possible. However, with the recent development of MSI, LSI and the like, the electronic circuitry, which formerly occupied a large portion of the space has been markedly miniaturized, so that the proportion of space occupied by the batteries and switchboard have been increased, presenting a bottleneck to further miniaturization. By the arrangement according to the invention, the space occupied by the switchboard is markedly reduced, so that the switchboard occupies only a small portion of the space in the device in which it is incorporated, such as a portable computer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, in accordance with the invenmagnetic field, case means having an operating surface, said reed switches being positioned in an array adjacent one side of said operating surface; and a manually positionable permanent magnet means adapted to operate selected ones of said reed switches when manually positioned adjacent the other side of said operating surface in registration with said one of said reed switches. Indicia may be positioned on said other side of said operating surface to provide an identification of the position and function of each reed switch in said array. Said other side of said operating surface may be defined by an elastic substance, said reed switches being positioned relative to said operating surface so that said permanent magnet means effects operation of selected ones of said reed switches'when engaged against said elastic substance. Recesses may be formed in said other side of said operating surface in registration with said reed switches and dimensioned for orienting said permanent magnet means to effect operation of said reed switches.

Accordingly, itis an object of this invention to provide a thin-type switchboard which occupies a minimum amount of space and is readily operated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a thintype switchboard which may be selectively operated by a single permanent manget, and which requires the operator to push to effect operation of a particular lead switch.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification and drawings.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d show four arrangements by which a reed switch may be operated by a permanent magnet to effect switching;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views showing two embodiments of the prior art switchboards incorporating reed switches;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view with portions broken away of the switchboard according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view with portions broken away showing the operation of the switchboard according to the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the switchboard according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1, a permanent magnet 1 may be utilized to displace a reed 2 of reed switch 3 to operate said lead switch. In each of the four approaches shown in FIGS. la, lb, 10 and 1d, the axis of the poles of permanent magnet l is-brought into a parallel relation with lead 2 as it approaches reed switch 3. The reed of the reed switch, which are normally separated, are brought into contact by the magnetic field of the permanent magnet to establish a conduction state.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show two prior art switchboard constructions utilizing the reed switch of FIG. 1. In both embodiments, the permanent magnet l is mounted on a pin 5, which in turn is mounted in a case 6. The'pin 5 is manipulated by pushing a knob 4 to selectively bring permanent magnet 1 near reed switch 3 to operate said reed switch. A spring 7 is provided on the lower part of pin 5 for restoring pin 5 to its initial position after the knob 4 is released, to separate the permanent magnet from the lead reed switch to turn the reed switch off.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the reed switch 3 is oriented parallel to pin 5, while in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the reed switch is oriented normal thereto. Even in the embodiment of FIG. 3, a thin-type switchboard cannot be produced, since several centimeters are required for the region from the upper part of knob 4 to the lower part of case 6, and in particular, to permit the traversing of pin 5 to bring the permanent magnet into registration with the reed switch. For this reason, the prior art construction offered substantial disadvantages when applied to miniaturized electronic devices.

7 Referring now to FIG. 4, wherein the switchboard according to the invention is depicted, the reed switches switchboard of FIG. 4 may be operated by a permanent magnet mounted by a loop or ring on the finger of an operator. By bringing the permanent magnet on the finger adjacent the operating surface of case 8 in registration with a particular one of reed switches 3, the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet will serve to operate that particular reed switch 3. In this manner, by selectively manually positioning the permanent magnet, selected ones of the reed switches corresponding to the indicia on the outer side of the operating surface will be selectively operated.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the outer side of said operating surface is provided with a guide frame 9 having a-plurality of recesses therein in registration with each of the reed switches and dimensioned to receive the permanent magnet in the proper orientation to insure that the direction of the magnetic field is such as to actuate the switch. The bottom of each of the recesses would be provided with the above-mentioned numbers, letters, signs or other indicia.

Where the upper side of the operating surface is a rigid plate, the contact action may become unstable,

' and moreover, the normal operation of pushing, usually required in operating a conventional switchboard will not be required. The foregoing difficulty can be avoided by forming the upper portion of said operating surface from an elastic substance such as rubber, plastic, cloth and the like. The thickness of such substance can be selected such that switching does not occur when the permanent magnet first contacts said elastic substance, but rather, will occur only when said permanent magnet is engaged against and pushed into said surface. This provides a steady switching operation and a feeling of completion of switching, which is deemed preferrable from the viewpoint of human engineering.

. While in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the permanent magnet is mounted on a ring or a loop on the finger of the user, the switching method according to the invention requires merely that said permanent magnet be selectively and manually brought into registration with the selected reed switch. For this purpose, said permanent magnet may be grasped by the fingers of the user, or attached to the end of a pencil, pen or other rod adapted for the manual positioning of the permanent magnet.

The thickness of the switchboard according to the invention is substantially determined by the diameter of the reed switch, thereby permitting the provision of a switchboard substantially thinner than those available in the prior art. The permanent magnet may be made of rare earth elements such assamarium and a magnetic intermetallic compound which includes at least one of the group consisting of Co, Fe and Mn. The energy product (Bl-l maximum) of said magnet should exceed 4 X gauss oersted.

The switchboard according to the invention occupies a minimal proportion of the volume of the electronic device in which it is incorporated, and contributes substantially to the miniaturization of such devices, and in particular, to the provision of miniaturized portable computers. Further, the structure of the switchboard according to the invention is substantially simplified as compared to the conventional switchboard. Still further, the prior art switchboards require one permanent magnet for each reed switch, while the arrangement according to the invention utilizes only a single permanent magnet to effect switching of all of .the reed switches, thereby resulting in a substantial reduction in construction cost.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above constructions withoutzdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter i of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed is:

l. A thin-type switchboard comprising a plurality of reed switches operable; in response to a magnetic field; case means having an operating surface, said reed I switches being positioned in an array adjacent one side of said operating surface; and a manually positionable permanent magnetmeans adapted to operate selected ones of said reed switches when manually positioned adjacent the other side of said operating surface in registration with said one of said reed switches, said permanent magnet means being selectively manually positionable adjacent each'of said reed switches to operate Y lected ones of said reed switches only when engaged against said contact surface and pushed into said elastic substance at a point in registrationwith said reed switch. 1 

1. A thin-type switchboard comprising a plurality of reed switches operable in response to a magnetic field; case means having an operating surface, said reed switches being positioned in an array adjacent one side of said operating surface; and a manually positionable permanent magnet means adapted to operate selected ones of said reed switches when manually positioned adjacent the other side of said operating surface in registration with said one of said reed switches, said permanent magnet means being selectively manually positionable adjacent each of said reed switches to operate said switchbOard, said other side of said operating surface being defined by an elastic substance having a contact surface, said reed switches being positioned relative to said elastic surface contact surface so that said permanent magnet means effects operation of said selected ones of said reed switches only when engaged against said contact surface and pushed into said elastic substance at a point in registration with said reed switch. 